RHS boys overwhelm GreenbrierGREENBRIER — The Russellville Cyclones were too much for the Greenbrier Panthers in the first game of the Battle of the Brier on Thursday. Russellville (5-1) traded the lead with Greenbrier in the first half, but the Cyclones led by as many as 31 points in the second half on their way to a 60-29 victory. The Cyclones took a 9-8 lead at the end of the first quarter after trailing 6-2 in the opening moments of the game. Russellville lost control...

Lady Cyclones remain unbeatenGREENBRIER — The last time the Russellville Lady Cyclones played the Greenbrier Lady Panthers it was a 10-point game. Russellville (6-0) had no interest in another close affair — but they got one despite a massive first-half lead — as they defeated Greenbrier 59-44 on Thursday in the first game of the Battle at the Brier. The Lady Panthers took a 2-0 lead early in the first quarter, but Russellville embarked on a 16-0 run to take a 25-5 lead b...

Lady Gators swamp AtkinsOLA — The Two Rivers Lady Gators opened 3A-4 Conference play with a 58-39 win over the Atkins Lady Red Devils on Tuesday. The Lady Gators (10-1, 1-0) led 18-11 after the first quarter and 30-20 at halftime. After the third quarter, Two Rivers was up 44-32. “Offensively, I thought we shot the ball well,” Two Rivers head coach Lyn Alexander said. “We still have things to work on defensively. We are still not communicating as well as we need to.”...

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Courier sports staffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Hector girls blister Lisa AcademyHECTOR — The Hector Lady Wildcats dominated Lisa Academy 53-6 on Wednesday inside the Hector Multi-Purpose Building — and no, that score isn’t a typing error. All six of Lisa Academy’s points came from Faith Ellis. Hector led 22-2 after the first quarter and 36-2 at halftime. The Lady Wildcats led 45-3 at the end of the third quarter. Avery Williams and Paige Lee led in scoring with 10 points each. Laken Stanek scored eight points. Alyssa Mill...

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Courier sports staffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

RHS announces Hoops for Hunger tourneyRussellville athletic director Johnny Johnson knew he wanted to start something special once the school’s $12.5 million dollar Cyclone Arena was completed. The facility was too nice to waste and Johnson wanted to find a way to give back to the Russellville Community. After speaking at a Rotary Club meeting, Johnson and others began planning a Hoops for Hunger tournament to raise money for the Manna House and River Valley Food 4 Kids, both nonp...

Ozark too much for Jr. LizardsDARDANELLE — The Dardanelle Junior Sand Lizards were overcome by the Ozark Junior Hillbillies 24-22 on Monday. “This one stung,” Dardanelle head coach Jared White said after the loss. “We basically let one guy beat us. I feel like we knew what he was going to do, but for whatever reason, we didn’t take that away. It has to be a learning experience in order to fix it. I felt like we played hard, but we have to play much, much smarter.” That one...

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Courier sports staffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Drury edges Golden Suns 71-64ATU Athletic Communications Nationally fourth-ranked Drury University used a late surge to defeat nationally 19th-ranked Arkansas Tech University 71-64 in non-conference women’s basketball at the O’Reilly Family Event Center in Springfield, Mo., on Tuesday afternoon. Arkansas Tech (6-2) led 61-54 with 5:18 remaining, but the Lady Panthers (9-0) went on a 17-1 run during the final five minutes to remain undefeated. “We played hard and took good...

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ATU Athletic CommunicationsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Hector takes second in ConwayCourier sports staff CONWAY — The Hector Wildcats took second in the Conway Christian Invitational Tournament after falling to Western Grove 60-57 in the finals on Saturday. Hector led 17-12 after the first quarter and 33-28 at halftime. Western Grove pulled within 40-37 after the third quarter. Tanner Gaines led the Wildcats in scoring with 17 points. Brett Gray scored 14 points. Rustin Hays and Nathan Proctor scored nine points each. Western...

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Courier sports staffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Apaches outpace Subiaco Trojans 53-48SUBIACO — The Pottsville Apaches beat the Subiaco Trojans 53-48 on Monday. “This was a big win on the road in conference play,” Pottsville head coach Shane Thurman said. “We did a great job forcing turnovers on defense and shared the ball offense. We could have rebounded better, and it would have been nice to make some more free throws down the stretch, but we’ll take it.” Subiaco led 13-12 after the first quarter but took a 29-23 by halftime....

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Sand Lizards impeach Senators 57-48Courier sports staff DARDANELLE — The Dardanelle Sand Lizards defeated the Pulaski Robinson Senators 57-48 on Friday. Dardanelle led 15-10 at the end of the first quarter but trailed 24-22 at halftime. After the third quarter, the Sand Lizards reclaimed a 41-35 lead. “This was the most complete game we have played all season,” Dardanelle head coach Russell Sturdivant said. “We did a really good job battling on the boards to keep them from gett...

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Courier sports staffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Lady Gators suffer first lossOXFORD, Miss. — The Two Rivers Gators suffered their first loss of the season in the O Town Showdown in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday. The tournament, which was an out-of-state, invite-only affair, featured the biggest public school and biggest private school in Mississippi. Two Rivers head coach Lyn Alexander entered the tournament hopeful for success and left with the knowledge that his team had improved. “I was really proud of our effort,” he s...

Russellville Cyclones fall to Sylvan HillsBY TRAVIS SIMPSON sports@couriernews.com The Russellville Cyclones suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday in the finals of the Cyclone Classic. Coming off a late-night three overtime win over Lake Hamilton, Russellville lost 68-58 to the Sylvan Hills Bears. Russellville trailed the Bears 17-5 at the end of the first quarter. Sylvan Hills closed the quarter with a 12-1 run. At halftime, the Cyclones trailed 34-19. Russellville trai...

Lady Cyclones win Morrilton tourneyMORRILTON — The Lady Cyclones won the Northwest Modern Woodsman Invitational Tournament inside Devil Dog Gymnasium on Saturday with a 42-35 win over the Clarksville Panthers. Russellville (5-0) is undefeated and a tournament champion, but first-year head coach Sherry White firmly believes they can do better. “To me, it looks like we are playing just good enough to win,” she said. “We are trying to build confidence. The teams we have played are...

Wonder Boys drop exhibition to LumberjacksNACOGDOCHES, Texas — Andrew Guillory scored 13 points and grabbed four boards, while Tyler Corley turned in a 12-point performance as the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys basketball team dropped an 86-48 exhibition to Stephen F. Austin on Saturday. HOW IT HAPPENED • SFA led by five (18-13) with 12:16 to play in the contest before the Wonder Boys used an 8-0 run to claim a three-point (21-18) lead with 10:10 to play. • The two teams traded leads down ...

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Little Johns’ Crane wins 2015 Tri-County Coach of the YearDANVILLE — Little Johns head coach D.J. Crane was voted the The Courier’s 2015 Tri-County Coach of the Year by coaches from Pope, Johnson and Yell County and Courier staff. Crane was surprised by the recognition but pleased. “It is a wonderful honor to be selected for this award,” he said. “I am very blessed.” The Little Johns were expected to be competitive prior to the season, but most did not peg them to win the 3A-4 Conference against riva...

Pottsville Apaches open 4A-4 with Dover Pirates sweepDOVER — The Pottsville Apaches defeated the Dover Pirates 53-42 on Friday in their 4A-4 Conference opener. Pottsville (6-2, 1-0) trailed 11-6 after the first quarter but took a 26-20 lead at halftime. After the third quarter, the Apaches were up 41-33. “We have played three games in three days, so I am proud of the resiliency that our team showed tonight,” Pottsville head coach Shane Thurman said.” The Apaches were led in scoring by Kyle Reyno...

RJHS sweeps Cabot RedCABOT — The Russellville Lady Whirlwinds defeated the Cabot Red Lady Panthers 28-18 on Thursday. Russellville (5-3) led 12-3 after the first quarter and 17-6 at halftime. The Lady Whirlwinds were up 22-9 after the third quarter. “We came out strong and played good defense,” Russellville head coach Chase White said. “I was proud of our focus and energy level from the start.” The Lady Whirlwinds were led in scoring by Zee McCallister with 11 poi...

Laws’ lifts Cyclones in 3rd OTMatt Laws’ 3-pointer with 4.8 seconds left in the third overtime sent Cyclone Arena into pandemonium. The Russellville Cyclones only trailed once during their 71-70 victory over the Lake Hamilton Wolves in the semifinals of the Cyclone Classic, but it took them every second of all three overtimes to put the Wolves down. Lake Hamilton’s Dwayne Matlock hit a 3-pointer — his 20th point and sixth three of the night — with less than 10 seconds left...

Lady Cyclones overcome GreenbrierMORRILTON — Shameka Ealy’s season high 28 points helped the Russellville Lady Cyclones overcome the Greenbrier Lady Panthers 56-46 on Friday in the semifinals of the Northwest Modern Woodman Invitational Tournament. Russellville (4-0) trailed 8-7 after the first quarter but went on a 6-0 run in the second to take the lead. From that point, the Lady Cyclones never trailed. Russellville led 24-18 at halftime. Greenbrier’s (2-5) Kory Westermen sc...